CELTIC PAGANISM

Little is known about Celtic Polytheism as evidence of it is fragmented due to the fact that the ancient Celts did not keep written records about their religion. The source of what we do know about Celtic Paganism comes from the literature of the early Christian period, references from Greek and Roman scholars and any archaeological evidence. The Druids would only allow their knowledge to be passes orally so as to protect their secrets from outsiders.

Celtic religion was polytheistic, believing in many deities, both male and female. The most notable of these were pan-Celtic, being worshipped across much of the Celtic world, albeit under various regional names and with different associations.

The Celts were animists, believing in deities existing in most aspects of nature, such as in trees and streams, who were often venerated at local shrines.

According to classical sources, the Celts worshipped the forces of nature and did not envisage deities in human form as other Pagan peoples such as the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians did. This appeared to change as the classical peoples grew in influence over the Celtic cultures, as the Celts did begin to give their deities human forms, and they moved from a more animistic-based faith to a more Romanized polytheistic view.

Several of these deities, including Lugus and Matrones, exhibited triplicity, being found in a set of three.

Insular Celts swore their oaths by their personal or tribal gods, and the land, sea and sky; as in, "I swear by the gods by whom my people swear" and "If I break my oath, may the land open to swallow me, the sea rise to drown me, and the sky fall upon me."

Some deities were deities of major natural occurrences, such as the sun. The Celts did not worship the sun, but saw it as a symbol for that aspect of divinity. These deities were generally worshipped across the Celtic lands, however, they often went under different names. An example of this was the god Lugus, who appeared in later Irish mythology as Lugh, and later in Welsh mythology as Lleu Llaw Gyffes.

Another widespread pan-Celtic god was a thunder god Taranis, whose worship has been detected as having occurred in Gaul, Britain and Hispania. Other similar deities included Toutatis, a god of tribal protection in Gaul and Britain, Belenos, a god of healing, and Cerunnos, a horned figure found in Gaul.

There were also pan-Celtic goddesses. Examples of this include a mother goddess (danu from Ireland and Don from Wales), a goddess of water (such as Sulis), and a goddess of horses (such as Epona in France, Macha in Ireland, and Rhiannon in Wales).

When the Romans conquered the Celtic lands of Gaul, Hispania and Britain, they equated the Celtic gods with their own. They claimed that the Gaulish Celtic god Belenos was the same as their own god Apollo, and that Lugus was the same as their own Mercury. These Roman descriptions comparing Celtic and Roman deities are one of the few sources of literary information that we have about the Celtic gods.

The Celts were animists, believing that all aspects of nature contained spirits, and that these spirits could be communicated with.

These animistic deities were often worshipped, so places such as rocks, streams, mountains, and trees may all have had shrines or offerings devoted to a deity residing there. These would have been local deities, known and worshipped by inhabitants living near to the shrine itself, and not pan-Celtic like some of the polytheistic gods.

Among the most popular sites for the veneration of animistic deities were trees; the oak, ash and thorn were considered to be the most sacred. The early Celts considered some trees to be sacred.

Hot springs and rivers were also popular sites for worship, and were commonly associated with healing.

One of the most popular theories for a belief in faeries (such as knockers, clurichain, and pixies) in Christianised Celtic areas is that they were a recurring folk belief of these animistic deities, placed under a Christian worldview, where they were seen no longer as nature deities but as malevolant spirits. Sometimes these faeries were treated just the same as previous pagan nature gods had been, with offerings being placed on trees and other shrines to both placate them from committing negative actions and ensuring a good harvest or hunt etc.

There is no direct information that has survived on what the Celts believed happened after death. However, from archaeological discoveries, Roman accounts, and later mythology, possible ideas of a Celtic afterlife can be established.

A reconstructed Celtic burial mound located near Hochdorf in Germany. Such burials were reserved for the influential and wealthy in Celtic society.

Celtic burial practices, which included burying food, weapons, and ornaments with the dead, suggest a belief in life after death.

The Druids, the Celtic learned class which included members of the clergy, were said by Caesar to have believed in reincarnation and transmigration of the soul along with astronomy and the nature and power of the gods. A Druid was a member of the learned class among the ancient Celts. They acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The earliest known records of the Druids come from the 3rd century BC. Some scholars have suggested that the Druids were the Celtic counterparts of the Brahmans of India.

A common factor in later mythologies from Christianised Celtic nations was the otherworld. This was the realm of the faery folk and other supernatural beings, who would entice humans into their realm. Sometimes this otherworld was claimed to exist underground, whilst at other times it was said to lie far to the west. Several scholars have suggested that the otherworld was the pagan Celtic afterlife, though there is no direct evidence to prove this.